I am having an issue with my 7 PRC. I loaded some Berger hybrid target bullets into peterson brass with a mid-range powder charge, i did seat the bullets out pretty far - about .040 off the lands. I get 4 shots in one hole, and one flies 2 inches away on EVERY group i shot (10 groups of 5). The brass was reloaded once, the gun is very new and i only have about 100 rounds through it at most. weird thing is that it happens with ELD-M bullets too. any ideas on diagnosing the problem?
When do you get the flier? Cool barrel….4 shots same hole, 5th shot flier?
I have much the same problem with a T3x in 6.5 PRC. I doubt if it is the barrel getting hot, not after only 5 shots. I am meticulous about brass prep, powder charge by hand down to exact reading on the RCBS electronic scale. Neck tension is the only variable that I am unable to precisely control while using an expander ball when sizing. Thinking of going to a collet die.
yep! always the 5th, but i do try to let it cool (maybe im too impatient though). im the exact same about powder charge, i use a A&D EJ-54D2 to get within 0.005 of my charge weight. i actually remove the expander ball from my sizing dies and mandrel in a separate step. I use a K&M arbor press to seat bullets and i’ll toss out any that are more than 20 psi from the rest.
Wow, that is doing it right for sure. Kind of point toward barrel harmonics shifting as it warms up. Wouldn’t be you are getting the 5th shot jitters…..
I doubt that if it happens constantly
Are you tracking g the the velocity of the strings? Is that one just way off?
What barrel if it’s a thinner barrel It will heat up fast. Are you feeding fast have you checked temp on barrel? Also this is a non cold note start right. By 5 shots from cold bore your velocity will shift.
I use a K&M press with pressure back and try to stay in the ± 3-4 lbs for pressure. Setting neck tension is important to. With a classic press it’s hard to deal those stuck seatings
I’m fl sizing with bushings and Mandrels to.002 neck tension.
Sorting bullets length and weight does It to.
All this tech is great, squeezing the group size to one hole seems to be what we all are striving for. But, ya know, dead is dead.I don’t see how much more deader that deer, bear or elk can be if my group is .5 MOA or 1.5 MOA. I’m kind of old school and practice shooting off hand for hunting season. Don’t get me wrong…..I like tiny groups too.
yeah i use a chronograph, and my ES is about 30 fps, SD around 10. I am using a suppressor, but I dont think that would affect accuracy, but i could be wrong. i do wait 2-3 minutes between shots but i am not sure if that’s long enough. my barrel is a proof carbon fiber, so i thought i wouldnt need to wait as long as with a steel barrel, but again i could be wrong.
hahaha you’re not wrong buddy
You might pick up a cheap laser thermometer (like the use for HVAC). I have started shooting 5 shots from my rifles at a steady rhythm (1 every 30 seconds or so) and then taking a temperature reading. I’ll wait until the barrel cools down to within 5 degrees of my pre-shot temperature before I shoot another string. I have a Bergara Crest with their Cure CF barrel and this has helped with my groups and SD.
@Red_Rooster most definitely if your aim pun intended is to drop an animal humanly and efficiently this is pretty much an obsessive rabbit hole. If you are a long range precision shooter it’s much less so. Personally I’m not a hunter it’s not what I grew up with. So I fall into the latter category. If you do both then for the precision side these conversations are relevant No rights or wrongs here
I’m shooting an 8lb barrel strait taper 1.25” the rifle weighs 28lbs 
and I shoot 5 and wait when doing ladders and load dev. Have a barrel cooler. Depending on the weather temp barrel temp shows or doesn’t and I adjust. Shooting sports for me is the pursuit of precision so every edge counts. It’s al for fun.
I’d offer up one more thing. The 5th shot sounds like it’s becoming expected to be errant. In precision shooting, I’m no expert, and I’ve read a ton and talked to heaps of pros, is consistency and repeatability. This is why before I shoot a round in a session I dry fire until my reticle is dead still my breath is calm and perfect and my trigger is stilL and quiet. I’m aware of my body and any pressures on the rifle. So my cold shots are pretty on. Lastly I notice that if I think something is going to go wrong or is off, rest assured It goes off. This 5 shot quandary could Also be a yip. There is pressure in It for sure target looks amazing and the thought that this last shot spoils It I have had that in spades less so after I recognized It and got back to intentional shot routine
I’d Try taking 10 or more dry fire shots before shooting the 5th while being aware of your trigger. aAre you slapping? Check contact with the gun is your cheak pushing down on the stock, your shoulder pushing into the butt, are you pushing forward hard on your support? Is there anny pressure annywhere in your system? are you looking at the target or the reticle? Or conversely Notice all this while taking your 5th shot. Shooting for me is completely meditative most of the time my misses are my misses. A navy seal friend has a saying It usually the operator not the equipment. I live by that. Can’t tell how Many mistakes I catch 
I’m not saying this is your issue and mia culpa it’s mine. When i learned this I started hitting everything.
Like I said this is what I do and I’m vey new to LRP take it with a grain of salt
That is a really good idea
agreed, i’ll give it a go!
I grew up in rural north Iowa in the late 50’s and 60’s. Shooting was associated with hunting and game for the table. Each fall, the local Lions Club would set up a trap thrower for a couple of weekends to warm up for the coming pheasant opening. So the rifle or shotgun was just a tool to put a rabbit or squirrel in the pot and like any tool we did our best to calibrate the gun for optimal performance. Oddly we didn’t have any deer back then in north Iowa, had to go somewhere exotic like northern Minnesota or Wyoming for that. Today’s standards and equipment are somewhat different than then, but really not so much. I relish the Browning A-5’s or Superposed O/U that were designed a 100 years ago or more and still perform to this day. I have never patterned a shotgun or found the need to do so, it is an area weapon not a precision weapon like a rifle. Also I smile when I read about the extreme measures some go to keep the weight of a hunting rifle as low as possible but then carry a tripod to shoot from. That is counter intuitive to me but then again we learned to shoot off hand sitting, knelling or standing and could steady yourself for that 3-5 seconds to get off a shot good enough to take home dinner. I do have the new age 6.5 CM or the 338 Lapua and others designed for longer range and find it fun, relaxing and challenging striving for those small groups but my basics are from years past, dead is dead and get the frying pan ready to cook dinner.
First of all, congratulations on recognizing the issue. Seems obvious, but almost everybody would just say “That one was me” and ignore the inconvenient data.
Is the flier always the fourth or fifth shot in thr group? how much time did the gun cool between groups? Was a suppressor used? What barrel thickness and is it CF?
As you can see from my questions, I’m usually looking a heat buildup as thr primary cause of fliers.